User Profile

Strakul

Strakul@wyrms.de

Joined 2 years, 4 months ago

Science fiction and fantasy. Astronomical Data Scientist at STScI/MAST in Baltimore. Opinions are my own. Follow me on Mastodon at mstdn.social/@VirStrakul Longer reviews on my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/

#Astronomy #Books #Gaming #Fantasy #SciFi

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Strakul's books

Currently Reading

2024 Reading Goal

91% complete! Strakul has read 11 of 12 books.

Blake Charlton: Spellbound (Paperback, 2012, Tor Fantasy) 4 stars

Even more magical text, now with dragons

4 stars

An exciting continuation of the Spellwright saga with even more magical text to learn about. Despite the time jump, it doesn't feel too removed from the prior novel and we still benefit from getting new characters. The plot and characters are improved and the setting is interesting. The only thing that I think may drag it down is some forays into political intrigue that feel half-baked.

For a full review, check out my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2024/08/book-review-spellbound-by-blake-charlton.html

Blake Charlton: Spellwright (Hardcover, 2010, Tor Books) 4 stars

The consequences of misspelling magic

4 stars

This was quite an interesting novel. It takes some familiar elements of fantasy, like druids, demons, dragons, etc but spins them around an intriguing magic known as spellwriting. The plot is fairly basic, but with some twists and turns and the characters are decent enough. The main selling point is the amount of detail spent into describing how the magic works and how it ties into everything that's going on.

For a full review, check out my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2024/08/book-review-spellwright-by-blake.html

Adrian Tchaikovsky: Children of Memory (2022, Pan Macmillan) 4 stars

Earth is failing. In a desperate bid to escape, the spaceship Enkidu and its captain, …

What does it mean to be sentient?

4 stars

This was a fun book and opens up some interesting possibilities for more potential adventures in this universe. However, in my opinion its the weakest of the three books thus far. While parts of it are very cool, the big mystery of Imir is a bit too dense and drags on without a clear resolution until the very end of the book. Once it does, it's fine and very clever, it just takes too long to get there. I do look forward to seeing how the series continues, with the hope that some of the formula gets shaken up a bit.

For a full review, check out my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2024/07/book-review-children-of-memory-by.html

Adrian Tchaikovsky, Adrian Tchaikovsky: Children of Ruin (Paperback, 2020, Pan Macmillan) 4 stars

The astonishing sequel to Children of Time, the award-winning novel of humanity’s battle for survival …

Interspecies communication is harder than it looks

5 stars

This was a fascinating book, probably even better than it's predecessor, Children of Time. There is a lot going on plot-wise, and we do need a few sections of exposition, but otherwise it paints an intriguing tale of contact between civilizations. These new aliens are even more alien than the uplifted spiders and it's very interesting to see the characters struggle through to communicate with them.

For a full review, check out my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2024/06/book-review-children-of-ruin-by-adrian.html

avatar for Strakul Strakul boosted

reviewed The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin (Great Cities, #1)

N. K. Jemisin: The City We Became (Hardcover, 2020, Orbit) 4 stars

Five New Yorkers must come together in order to defend their city.

Every city has …

Explosively creative & often funny.

5 stars

New York comes alive, through six human avatars, but something in the multiverse isn't happy. Explosively creative & often funny. Shares a deep love for the city & its people. Clever use of identity politics and gentrification.

reviewed Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Children of Time, #1)

Adrian Tchaikovsky: Children of Time (Paperback, 2018, Orbit) 4 stars

The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a …

A modern, classic sci-fi tale

5 stars

This was a great book and I see why it has won awards and is generally regarded in a positive light. While the characters are basic, they are nonetheless interesting and the plot is straightforward enough to keep the focus on the setting. The setting is excellent and the way the two societies, one human, one spider, is explored is clever. I enjoyed both viewpoints and wish we had gotten more time after they merged together, but maybe that is a story for the second novel? I look forward to reading the other novels in this series and finding out.

For a full review, check out my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2024/06/book-review-children-of-time-by-adrian.html